Is three months too short of a time to keep someone in a substance abuse treatment program ?
It seems that the federal programs are longer then most state programs when being referred by the P.O.. Most state programs use 3 month programs, is this too short ?

The two that have impressed me the most were Jefferson House in Detroit which is a min of a year long and included life skills, money management, employment and various levels of responsibilty as well as substance abuse treatment. They also continue to follow up on you after the year and you can still come to all their meetings, even daily. By the way, they do except criminal justice clients which means you can go to one of the 1 month ones and from there go to Jefferson house on referal by a PO.
The other one I cant remember the name of but it was very much the same except for women and was in the Ottawa, Canada area. The employment was in womens shelters which really helped the addict to feel like a worthwhile person. It was also long term and continued with follow up after release from the program.

I really wish states would adopt longer rehab/drug treatment inpatient programs, as you have mentioned, that involves all aspects of life skills and responsibilities. Its especially good to have that "continued" follow up being available after release too.

Rehab should be minimum 6 months followed by an additional 6 months in a sober home. If the disease is profoundly progressed, a 2 year program like TROSA in North Carolina would be better. Life skills, job skills, coping skills, daily meetings, private and group therapy, education, anger management, parenting classes should also be very available.

My oldest son is waiting to get into a inpatience rehab center for 90 days. He also was recommended after this to go to a half way house but we are going to have check on this for he is disable and draws a very small disability check. He was caught for drug possession and needles,pipe and some other items. He called us late one evening after being in jail for a wk and ask us to help him. First thing I did the next morning was started calling to see if I could get help for him and I found this one place that would go to jail and give assement test. We proceeded to get him out and the county would only let him out thru bailbondsmen which it costed
quite a bit to put up 10 percent on bond....but since we were also dealing with another son in correctional facility due to drugs and spend money on him to get help and out of jail few times we knew we had to help this son...As of now the son that is waiting to go to rehab has been clean the past 3 wks and has been out of my sight for maybe 3 hrs....I just hope soon both of my sons will get better....I think my oldest one will need more than the 90 day program.....I am so sick of drugs and what they have done to so many families and how they have destroyed
people.....God Bless All........mother1952

Longer would certainly be better, but we all know that it comes down to funding. I think it depends also on where the person is coming from and how long they're going to be in "the system" (and thus, hopefully, clean) too, because part of recovery is giving the brain a chance to repair itself.

i think a year would be reasonable for an inpatient program. a program is better than being in prison.

I agree w/most of you that 3 months is too short. Of course that really depends upon the individual. I got involved with the S.A.S. program at the NHSP in Berlin, NH. It was a seven month program (twice weekly) for substance abuse. It was a doc required program for early release (parole). I've been out of prison now going on two years this coming May. And during this whole time I have stayed sober with no desire to use again. Hey, it worked for me!Also, just a quick comment to your quote above. Our criminal justice system is broken and hopelessly addicted to incarcerate. The U.S. represents only 5% of the world's population, but accounts for an astounding 25 percent of the world's prison population! We are incarcerating at a record rate, with one in 100 American adults now locked up. There is a 2.3 million inmate prison population overall with a majority of those drugs/alcohol related. I don't know what it cost's the tax-payers in your State to incarcerate, but here in New Hampshire it is $32,000 dollars a year and that doesn't include medical and dental. This country needs more State & Federally funded rehabilitation programs in drug and alcohol abuse intervention and along with that, more victims impact programs/counseling and other alternative measures outside of the walls instead of behind the walls through incarceration. NH has lost over 500 beds for rehab in recent years, yet this State has one of the highest per-capita alcohol consumption rates in the country. Here’s a statistic; One out of every ten drivers in NH are (at any given time) driving illegally impaired by drugs or alcohol. That is a MAJOR problem for New Hampshire!!! Also, one has little help to turn to for alcohol and/or drug addiction outside the wall. Rehab centers have all but cut back on their 28 day programs, and now most only offer 3-5 day services (detox). In other words, they offer a place to dry out and they’re given a little literature along with a talk. Yet take the NH State-funded S.A.S. program offered behind the prison wall. Not only does the State (taxes) pay for that 7 month program, it also must pay $32,000 per year per Inmate for incarceration and more for their medical issues as well. So why not cut those prison costs and potential crimes related to alcohol and drugs and move the program outside of the walls, saving and redistributing those funds to cover the cost? I know, I know...common sense right? The only answer I can come up with for this country's State Budget Crisis and Prison over-population/recidivism-rate is this; Get rid of "Truth and Sentencing" and "Mandatory Sentencing", and replace them both with "Alternative Sentencing". Send non-violent alcohol/drug related offenders to programs not prisons. Cac~

I work at an inpatient drug rehab and we get a lot of federal probation clients. At times, I do think 3 months is too short. But with any type of recovery program it really depends on the willingness of the participant. I have seen many clients who come in and are truly invested in their recovery and they do well in the three months. We encourage all clients to switch to outpatient once their 90 days are completed, and that seems to increase the length of their sobriety.

It really depends on the level of addiction and the withdrawal symptoms. It also depends on the programs by rehab centers.You may check sober.com for comprehensive articles on alternative drug and alcohol treatment.

Is three months too short of a time to keep someone in a substance abuse treatment program ?
It seems that the federal programs are longer then most state programs when being referred by the P.O.. Most state programs use 3 month programs, is this too short ?

In my honest opinion, 90-days is way too short for any kind of treatment. Having been a A&D counselor, most of the people that do those types of treatment are doing a diversion program (rather than take a conviction). I realize you are talking about state vs federal prison treatment programs, but I still believe that is way too short to address all of the issues related to addiction.

The program my fiance was in here in Oregon was 6 months. I am not sure if any of them out here only do 90-days. It really depends on the individual in treatment as to whether it works or not, and the level of aftercare they recieve.

Peace~

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It depends on the quality of the program. I have not heard good news from the prison program that my son is in. Does anyone know any thing about the Dual Diagnosis Program at Wisconsin Resource Center? I'm looking for real prisoner experiences to relay to my son. Please help!
MaMaPro